“A peaceful mind gives life to the body, but jealousy rots the bones.” Proverbs 14:30
“Jealousy is a destructive attitude that poisons the way you view life. Jealousy is self-centeredness at its worst. Jealousy robs us of joy and chokes out contentment.” 1
Let’s face it; there are seeds of jealousy in all of us. The devil wants us to believe we’re entitled to this and that, and little by little, we start feeding into his falsehoods. If we cultivate those seeds, we set ourselves up to reap its bitter fruit.
To be honest, this is an area of my life I continually have to tend to because jealousy can quickly give rise to envy, greed, discontent, resentment, rivalry, and a whole host of negative feelings that bring me down.
What’s the remedy? Replace those seeds of jealousy with seeds of gratitude. Jealousy might rot the bones, but a heart at peace, a heart that is focused – not on what others have but on what God has given us – gives life to the body.
Thought: Where gratitude thrives, greed can’t abide.
1 Experiencing God Day by Day, by Henri and Richard Blackaby, pg 326